A city-state in its truest form, Hong Kong is a massive city residing along the southern coast of China. Home to more than seven million residents in the present-day, the island of Hong Kong and its surrounding territories were once home to numerous small settlements, including those constructed by foreign explorers. During the reign of the Chinese Qing Dynasty in the 19th century, trade relations with England dissolved amidst growing concern over the importation of Indian Opium into China. Britain had hoped to offset its increasing expensive tea imports from China by exporting greater amounts of Opium from its Indian colonies to China. However, the Qing rulers objected, and attempted to seize incoming opium shipments, inciting the First Opium War in 1839.

As one of the premier naval powers of the era, Britain had little trouble defeating the Chinese forces and occupying the island of Hong Kong. After nearly 3 years of conflict, the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 provided Britain with various spoils, including control of Hong Kong. After growing as a British colony for more than 150 years, Hong Kong was finally returned to China in 1997, after a peaceful transfer of power led to the creation of the Hong Kong special administrative region. Modern Hong Kong is distinguished by its highly dense, urban landscape with a distinctive skyline marked by dozens of skyscrapers and brightly lit structures. Despite the communist system utilized by the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong maintains an autonomous system of government that firmly supports free trade, and the city is now considered one of the world's premier financial hubs.